Prayer of a Teacher

God give me students who are challenging,  demanding and engaging...
Challenging all that can challenge them...
Demanding always freedom from the bondage of learning...
Engaging in stuffs that can disengage them from reaching heights...
Let my students have functions of blaming all that can fame them...
Let them oscillate between unwanted things or at least diverge but never converge...
Let them continue to be discontinuous essentially....
Let them derive the joy of being constant...

Coconut can carry Keralam to heights...

In the budget of the government of Keralam, there was a proposal to have five per cent levy on coconut oil. It is estimated to fetch Rs. 150 crore for the exchequer. Although, this proposal is sharply criticized by many, it is a clever move to encash the growing demand for coconut oil in Keralam. It also boosts the price of the coconut indirectly, thereby helping the coconut farmers. Keralam has great potency in converting its rare natural gift, the coconut tree, to which it owes its name (Keralam – Land of Kera (coconut) Tree). It is very strange to note that on the streets of Chennai, one has to pay Rs. 40 for a non-tasty tender coconut. A concerted effort from the various government agencies can create huge coconut money in Keralam. Here are some suggestions to have new directions in the coconut-promotion.

1. Promotion of coconut as the cause of the name of the state of Keralam.
2. Expand the activities of the Coconut Development Corporation to every ward of every local body.
3. Identify and honour the oldest coconut in each ward.
4. Insurance cover for each coconut.
5. Promotion of Coconut Tree Adoption.
6. Soaps including tax cut for Coconut Farmers.
7. Freely distribute coconut saplings to the students.
8. Studies of Coconut should be inserted in the curricula.
9. Manual Coconut Plucking should be declared as a highly skilled and risky job.
10. Tax-cuts for hotels and restaurants that use coconut oil.
11. Introduction of Coconut-Week Celebrations.
12. Promotion of Coconut preservation programmes.
13. Introduce tax for other imported oils.
14. For lamps used in government functions, coconut oil only should be used.
15. Preference for coir products in the government offices.
16. Attractive and early pension schemes for the Coconut Plucking labourers.
17. Regular broadcasting of advertisements, songs etc. promoting Coconut.
18. Regular promotional activities on the medicinal effect of coconut oil.
19. Endowment for Coconut Research.
20. Establishment of Coconut Research institutes in every Assembly constituency.
21. Promoting handicrafts from coconut shell.
22. Thin coir string is to used for all office needs.
23. Research Centers and Chairs in all Universities in Keralam.
24. Avoid all drinks except water, tender coconut, the processed non-alcoholic drinks from coconut in all government offices and functions.
25. Promotion of Coconut “apple.” 
26. Copra-based sweets, biscuits, fast-food, Tiffin etc. may be promoted with tax cuts.
27. Awards for coconut farmers.
28. Short-films and pamphlets in the promotion of coconut.
29. Special welfare schemes for workers in all types coconut mills.
30. Promotion of start-ups in the area of Coconut-related industry.
31. Climbing on coconut tree should be included as a competitive sports event.
32. Promote developing more dwarf-coconut varieties.
33. Promote machines for coconut plucking and processing.

The world needs you

One who achieves a grade is a graduate. Today is your graduation day. You’re formally entrusted with the grades you have achieved during the course of your training programme here at Christ University. You are now graduates. This is a tremendous achievement from many perspectives.

It is an achievement by you. We believe that you have acquired the required experience, sufficient knowledge, and the capacity to make good judgement. This was what we aimed at while giving training to you here.

It is an achievement by your parents. They have brought you to the best educational institution. They applied their muscles and toiled for you while you were muscling with the books. They prayed for you while you were buried with your assignments and tests. They spent their precious time worrying about you while you systematically invested your time and energy to reach this glory.

It is an achievement for your nation. You are from different parts of the world. You become another fortunate son or daughter of your nation by adding yourself to the skilled force of your nation.

As graduates when you step out of your alma mater, we entrust you with a prophetic mission that was well presented in our core values. You were trained to be human beings whose ultimate goal is the fullness in God, knowing the truth and leading a virtuous life. We do want you to be real guiding lights. It should be not like, as the most famous European humanist of the 16^th century Erasmus puts it, in regione caecorum rex est luscus. Become true beacons of light. We want you to work as positive catalysts in the world.

For some of you, study was cakewalk. Some of you never worked any way near to your potential. For some it was real struggle. It was fight against all odds. The sweetness of your achievement depends on the way in which you reached this day.

Let me take your attention to two persons and a sports team which became viral in the social media recently.

Srinivasa Ramanujan

An immensely talented Mathematician of our Land was Srinivasa Ramanujan. The recent movie, The Man Who Know Infinity, is based on his life. He independently compiled nearly 3,900 mathematical results. Humble to the core, he attributed all his works to the divine assistance. He died at a young age of 32. He was not a graduate in Indian terms. But he was one of the youngest Fellows of Royal Society. Although he was highly gifted, a good trainer like GH Hardy was needed to make him an effective contributor. If you are ready to be trained, your effectiveness is unimaginable.

Anant Ambani

An immensely rich young man is Anant Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. As a teenager he was often presented as the side effect of wealth as he was hugely obese. Reaching 21, his inspirational mother transformed him to a good looking handsome young man. He walked 21 km a day, practiced yoga, followed a strict low-carb, zero-sugar diet, i.e., avoided any kind of processed foods, such as, breads, pastas, cereals, sweets, soft drinks etc., concentrating instead on proteins and healthy fats. Finally, he shed 108 kgs in 18 months. It’s like a fairytale. But it’s not a myth. It happened just recently. Some of you have worked like this to achieve your graduation. Hardwork counts.

Leicester City

Until the second half of 2015, very few in the world had heard about Leicester City football team. It was placed last in the English Premier League. But on 7 May, 2016 they became the Champions with three games left in the league. In one of the toughest leagues in the world with 38 games, at the time of winning the title they lost only 3 games. The story of Leicester City as a team is a case study material. There are many players in English Premier League who has salary more than the total salary of all members of the Leicester City Team. The Team is owned by an Asian. The Coach never won a major title. Then, how this has happened? Educationalist John Dunford, lists five reasons for the great success of the team as follows:

1. Hardwork, 2.Teamwork, 3. Right Decisions, 4. Support of the Leadership and 5. Evidence-based policies.

If you have achieved the real goal you set years ago, do not be complacent. The world needs you.

If you have not achieved the real goal, do not lose hope. Still you have not lost time. The world needs you.

If you have underperformed while achieving your goal, do not regret unncesserily. Start today. Perform well. The world needs you.

Mother is God incarnated.....

Just in case, if you couldn’t meet God anywhere

Why don’t you go to your kitchen

Search for that woman who has dirt everywhere

Shy to come out and always forgotten

Unselfish to love and selfish to be loved

Shed you her body and blood

Fed you for your good

Fled from her home not by her choice

Led by philosophies that are not wise

She needs not your mercy but your prayer

Believe then that God is everywhere

Confirm that God is not a piece of a stone

Affirm that God is flesh that can be seen

Love and Hatred

I love you when you integrate me
But for your partitioning of me finer and finer.
I hate you for differentiating me
Though you wait for my limits.

Sum of the Squares of the Degrees

One of the most fundamental results in graphs is that the sum of the degrees of all the vertices of a graph is twice the number of edges in it.

This is is the famous Handshaking Theorem.
It is called Handshaking Theorem due to the analogy of the involvement of two hands in every handshake with that of the two vertices in every relation (edge).

Hence, the total number of relations of the persons (degrees of  the vertices) in a graph is double the number of relations (edges) in it.

What happens if we add the squares of the degrees of all the vertices in a simple graph?

It is found out that the sum of the squares of all vertices in a graph is the the sum of the degrees of the adjacent vertices of all the vertices the graph it self.

Why is it so? It is because, the square of the degree of a vertex is same as adding the degree of a vertex, the degree number of times.
                                                         n²=n+n+n+...+n (n times)
But one can easily verify that every vertex has exactly its degree number of adjacent vertices. Hence, when we sum the degrees of  the adjacent vertices of all the vertices of a graph, every degree is added that degree number of times. This proves the result.

We can also observe that if we add all the degrees and degree squares of all the vertices of a graph, then it is same as summing up all the degrees of all vertices in the closed neighbourhood of all the vertices of that graph.

The First Twenty Five Primes

Every prime number is a positive integer that is divisible by 1 and itself only. There are infinitely many prime numbers. Prime numbers are peculiar numbers which do not have a common predictable property other than that of the indivisibility. Because they are indivisible, the fundamental theorem of arithmetic is that they are the building blocks of numbers. That is to say that any positive integer greater than 1 can be written uniquely as the product of prime numbers.

There are 25 primes below 100. This is a method to remember all the first 25 primes.
We begin with 25 itself.

The first and third primes are 2 and 5 respectively. They are prime numbers but no other prime number would have 2 and 5 as its end digits
Now, 5+2 and 5-2 give the other two single digits primes. i.e., 7 and 3.
Hence, we have all the single digit primes as 2, 3, 5 and 7.

All primes with at least two digits would end only in 1, 3, 7 or 9.

We list all the two digit primes that end in 1.

Wen use 2 and 5 once again for that.
Splitting 2, we get the first two digit prime, 11.
Then, 1+2=3, 1+3=4, 1+5=6 and 1+6=7 are the first digits of the remaining primes.
Hence, the two digit primes are 11, 31, 41, 61 and 71. Thus we get all primes that end in 1.

A total of 9 primes, we have found out so far.

Now, we need to list all the primes that end in 3.

Adding the digits of the primes that end in 1, we get 1+1=2, 3+1=4, 4+1=5, 6+1=7 and 7+1=8.
Appending 3 to the right of the above numbers, we get the two digit primes that end in 3.
They are 23, 43, 53, 73 and 83. Hence, excluding 3, we got 13 primes. Of course, 13 is also a prime number.

What left are the primes that end in 7 or 9. But, this is very easy.

List all the digits in numbers from 1 to 10.
They are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1 and 3.
Appending 7 or 9 as the case may be(by avoiding the trivial composite numbers we get,
17, 29, 37, 47, 59, 67, 79, 89, 97, 19 and 07.
These are the 11 prime numbers that end in 7 or 9.

Hence all the prime numbers below 100 are:

1. 2 and 5
2. 11, 31, 41, 61 and 71
3. 3, 13, 23, 43, 53, 73 and 83.
4. 7, 17, 37, 47, 67 and 97
5. 19, 29, 59, 79 and 89.